Highlights from the bookshelf

We had some delicious roasted gem squash with dinner last night. I’m saving the seeds and hopefully we can grow some next summer. These squash came from a market so we don’t know exactly how they were grown. If they came from hybrid seed then plants grown from these saved seeds will revert to one or other of the parent plants. If they were open pollinated then they should stay true to type for at least another generation. If they turn out to be nothing like what we want then the pigs will be happy.

Scrape out the seeds and put them in a bowl of water – the seeds will float to the top. If there is any flesh sticking to the seeds, give them a stir and it should fall away.

Skim the seeds from the water and spread them on a paper towel to dry overnight. When they are dry, put the seeds in an airtight container in a cool dark place until you want to plant them. Well dried and stored seed will stay viable for several years so if you’re happy with the result of the first planting, you could keep the rest of the seeds for subsequent years.

One Comment »

Are these really, really hard to cut into? And you just roast them with a little bit of butter inside? They look like squash I picked up at a Farmers’ Market here and couldn’t remember what they were called. They were delicious and I saved the seeds to give to my uncle.